This invention relates generally to the sport of archery and has particular reference to an improved arrow rest for an archery bow.
Many years ago the sport of archery was practiced with a long bow of relatively simple construction, and the arrow nock was held in engagement with the bowstring and the latter was drawn back by one hand while the archer grasped the bow handle with his other hand. When shooting with the old long bow, the portion of the arrowforward of the nock was generally supported in shooting position by resting it on the upper part of the archer's hand holding the bow handle.
With the advent of the more sophisticated recurved and compound bows, and the present highly technical approach to archery, bows are constructed with arrow windows so that the bow itself does not obstruct the most desirable path for the arrow. This window is normally spaced above the handle portion of the bow so that it is no longer possible to support the arrow forward of the nock on the hand that is gripping the bow handle. This has led to the provision in most modern bows of some type of a mechanical arrow rest in the arrow window. In addition to supporting a portion of the arrow, these rests must make provision for the passage of the arrow vanes or feathers through the rest and various other factors in scientific shooting must be considered.
A number of different arrow rests are disclosed in the following U.S. Patents noted in the course of a preliminary search: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,871,352; 4,236,497; 4,398,528; 4,489,704; 4,492,214 and 4,662,346. Of these, U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,497 to F. V. Troncoso, Jr. is the closest prior art in the applicant's opinion. The arrow rest shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the Troncoso patent, like the present invention, employs a pair of springs to support the arrow. However, the springs in the patent are colinear whereas the springs of the rest disclosed herein are obliquely disposed with respect to one another which, together with their supporting structure, enables greater latitude in adjusting the spacing and angular adjustment between the springs as will become apparent from the following detailed description.